In good company: The role of personal and inter-firm networks for new-venture internationalization in a transition economy

Although personal and inter-firm networks are critical for the survival and growth of entrepreneurial ventures in transition economies, their role in new-venture internationalization has been understudied. Exploring the internationalization of entrepreneurial ventures (n = 623) in Bulgaria, we find that domestic personal networks have a positive effect on internationalization. Firm age negatively moderates the effect of inter-firm networks: the earlier the new venture engages in inter-firm collaboration, the higher the degree of its internationalization. Internationalization is positively associated with new venture size and varies by industry. Implications for managerial practice and public policy are discussed.     

Sustainable development of global entrepreneurship: infrastructure and perspectives

Development of the modern global entrepreneurship is one of the most perspective and promising means of overcoming the consequences of the global economic crisis, as well as prevention of future crises of economic systems, as it ensures full level of optimization of production and distribution processes. The purpose of the article is to determine perspectives of sustainable development of the global entrepreneurship. For determining the level of sustainability of development of the modern global entrepreneurship, the authors use the methods of statistical analysis of time rows (method of horizontal and trend analysis). The authors perform a complex analysis of dynamics of development of global companies and performed evaluation of their sustainability. Also, the necessity for changing the model of managing the development of modern global entrepreneurship for increasing its sustainability is substantiated. As a result, it is concluded that modern global entrepreneurship is developing in the unstable way, and practical recommendations are offered for solving this problem. A perspective model of sustainable development of the modern global entrepreneurship is developed and presented. A certain limitation of the results of the performed research is the framework character of the offered recommendations.

     

Raleigh building products: A teaching case that highlights the differences between IFRS and US GAAP

Within 5 years, the United States will join the rest of the world’s industrialized countries and many emerging economies in adopting International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). However, many educational programs have not yet developed full curricula or integrated case studies in existing programs to compare and contrast how US GAAP and IFRS would record and present major accounting transactions.Based on events that reflect real world scenarios, this study presents a series of three Raleigh Building Products cases as an instrument to fill the current IFRS education void. The first case in the series discusses US GAAP acquisition and consolidation activities, the second case examines asset and intangible impairment under US GAAP and IFRS, and the last case adds components that differ significantly between US GAAP and IFRS. The series of cases can be used stand alone or build upon each other throughout the semester. The combined cases focus on the following key concepts: (1) calculating acquisition price; (2) preparing combination financial statements including deleting LIFO reserves; (3) measuring goodwill and other intangibles; (4) determining the impairment of goodwill due to economic declines; and (5) comparing fundamental differences between US GAAP to IFRS. The attached teaching notes detail these matters and discuss the statements of cash flows under US GAAP and IFRS.Results from classroom use indicate that this case will benefit accounting students and practitioners as IFRSs become effective in the US.     

How resilient and countercyclical were emerging economies during the global financial crisis?

By studying the cross-country incidence of the 2008–2009 global financial crisis, we document a structural break in the way emerging economies responded to the global shock. Contrary to popular perceptions, emerging economies suffered growth collapses (relative to the pre-crisis levels) comparable to those experienced by developed economies, even when they continued growing. Afterwards, most economies returned to their pre-crisis growth rates. Although emerging economies were not able to avoid the collapse originated in the U.S. and then transmitted across countries, they were more resilient during the global crisis than during past crises. Namely, they resumed their higher growth rates earlier and converged more quickly to their pre-crisis growth trend. Moreover, breaking with the past, emerging economies did not fall more than developed economies during the global crisis and were able to conduct countercyclical policies, thus becoming more similar to developed economies.     

The optimal initial allocation of pollution permits: a relative performance approach

The initial allocation of pollution permits is an important aspect of emissions trading schemes. We generalize the analysis of Böhringer and Lange (2005, Eur Econ Rev 49(8): 2041–2055) to initial allocation mechanisms that are based on inter-firm relative performance comparisons (including grandfathering and auctions, as well as novel mechanisms). We show that using firms’ historical output for allocating permits is never optimal in a dynamic permit market setting, while using firms’ historical emissions is optimal only in closed trading systems and only for a narrow class of allocation mechanisms. Instead, it is possible to achieve social optimality by allocating permits based only on an external factor, which is independent of output and emissions. We then outline sufficient conditions for a socially optimal relative performance mechanism.     

Aligning Company and Dealer Perspectives in Corporate Branding: Implications for Dealer Satisfaction and Commitment

Purpose: There is a contention in marketing literature that gaps between corporate and key stakeholders’ perspectives have unfavorable implications for corporate brand performance. The current article attempts to empirically substantiate this argument. As such, this article looks at the relationship between a car manufacturer and its dealers and examines it from the perspective of the relationship misalignment.

Methodology: Applying the Profile Deviation method, this study tests the effects of a manufacturer–dealer corporate brand misalignment on dealer satisfaction and commitment. The manager-specified ideal profile for a corporate brand was used as a proxy for a manufacturer perspective and a benchmark against which dealer perceptions were compared. The corporate brand construct encompassed the dimensions of corporate image, corporate personality and dealer-experienced value. Hypotheses were tested using Pearson correlations and multiple regressions.

Findings: Results, which were robust across all the corporate brand dimensions, support the hypotheses of negative performance impact of manufacturer-dealer misalignment.

Originality/value/contribution: This study identifies an important link between the theoretical proposition and the operationalization test of examining performance implications of misalignment. The current study argues for broader integrative thinking and cross-disciplinary research in business-to-business marketing. In the absence of the relevant literature on conceptualization and operationalization in the marketing literature, the article borrows a testing method of Profile Deviation from the management field. By developing a fine-grained analysis, the current study pinpoints specific aspects that require co-alignment in corporate branding, thus facilitating managerial decision-making.

Research implications/limitations: The current study demonstrates that deviation from a corporate perspective implies a weakness in corporate branding process with negative performance consequences. The Profile Deviation perspective used in this article has focused on a static, cross-sectional approach for specifying and testing misalignment between a manufacturer and its dealer principles. The researchers are encouraged to consider alternative mechanisms to test for misalignment as a dynamic task within a longitudinal research design.

Practical implications: Companies must be aware of the areas where gaps can occur that impede effective decision-making. Aligning a corporate brand between a company and members of the distribution channel requires careful implementation that encourages dealer inputs in brand operations while avoiding counter-productive implications.     

Current Account ‘Core–Periphery Dualism’ in the EMU

Current account (CA) dispersion within European Union (EU) Member States has been increasing progressively since the 1990s. Interestingly, the persistent deficits in many peripheral countries have not been accompanied by a significant growth process able to stimulate a log run rebalancing as neoclassical theory predicts. To shed light on the issue, this paper investigates the determinants of Eurozone CA imbalances, focusing on the role played by financial integration. The analysis considers two samples of 22 OECD and 15 EU countries, three time horizons corresponding to various steps in European integration, different control variables and several panel econometric methods. The results suggest that within the EU group of countries financial integration contributed to explain the CA deterioration in the peripheral countries especially in the post‐EMU period creating an asymmetric behaviour within the EMU. From a financial stability perspective, this ‘divergence’ could hinder the effectiveness of monetary policy. By reducing the apparent benefits of participating in the monetary union, it also raises the risk of a break‐up.     

Statistical inference for moving‐average Lévy‐driven processes: Fourier‐based approach

We consider a new method of semiparametric statistical estimation for the continuous‐time moving‐average Lévy processes. We derive the convergence rates of the proposed estimators and show that these rates are optimal in minimax sense.     

“China,why not?”: serious leisure and transmigrant runners’ stories from Beijing

The purpose of this study was to examine how amateur, serious distance runners negotiate their running practices upon transnational migration to China. Despite the extensive body of research into expatriate experiences and adaptation, serious leisure as a site where meaning-making occurs has not been studied in existing research. Through interviews with five female and two male expatriates, we studied the ways in which Western runners brought meaning to the transition experience and negotiated meanings and bodily practices associated with running. Through narrative analysis, we identified three core narratives of migration (possibility, necessity and growing up) and two emergent narratives (community and running to feel like oneself) about shifting meaning in running. We conclude with implications for future research in serious leisure and migration studies.     

Dynamics of the Standard of Living in St Petersburg during Five Years of Economic Reform

The monitoring of changing living conditions in St Petersburg was started in 1989. In 1993 the Finance and Economics Committee of the Government of St Petersburg and a team of researchers from the Institute of Sociology at the Russian Academy of Sciences began collaborating in a study of the levels of socio-economic differentiation among the population and the priorities in city budget policies. A telephone survey scheme was designed based on representative samples (1000–2500 respondents) of the adult population (18 years and over) and controlled by city district distribution, sex, age, social status and housing. This scheme was implemented regularly with 2–3 month intervals between surveys. It was also undertaken for the purpose of reviewing the general orientation of social politics, decisions on budget priorities, new urgent needs and goals, and the diagnosis and short-term prognosis of trends and policy moves. Detailed and structured information on the living standards of the St Petersburg population is available from the computerized data-base, reports, and from the city's daily newspaper Nevskoe vremya. The studies have demonstrated that economic differentiation in St Petersburg has grown significantly as a result of current reforms (from a 1 to 4 ratio before 1990 to 1 to 10 by the end of 1996). Analysis of the economic characteristics of the population of St Petersburg has revealed that over the course of the past five years there has been rapid differentiation along new lines. At present, wealth and poverty, rather than shared social and professional attributes, tend to unite or separate people. The level of family and personal income determines consumer behaviour, lifestyle, values, cultural attitudes and even individuals' self-perception. La surveillance des changements des conditions de vie à Saint Pétersbourg a commencé en 1989. En 1993 le Comité de l'Economie et des Finances du Gouvernement de Saint Pétersbourg et une équipe de chercheurs de l'Institut de Sociologie de l'Académie des Sciences de Russie commencèrent une étude collaborative des niveaux de différenciation socio-économique dans la population et des priorités de la politique budgétaire de la ville. Un sondage téléphonique fut proposé, fondé sur une section représentative (1000 à 2500 personnes) de la population adulte (de 18 ans et plus) et contrôllée par la distribution des quartiers de la ville, par sexe, âge, statut social et logement. Ce projet fut mis en exécution régulièrement, avec 2 ou 3 mois d'intervalle entre les sondages. Il fut aussi entrepris dans le but d'examiner l'orientation générale des politiques sociales, des décisions quant aux priorités budgétaires, les nouveaux besoins et buts urgents, et le diagnosis et prognosis à court terme des tendances et changements de politique. L'information détaillée structurée concernant les niveaux de vie de la population de Saint Pétersbourg peut être obtenue dans le compte-rendu de la base des donnés sur l'ordinateur et dans le quotidien de la ville, Nevskoe Vremya. Les recherches ont démontré que le différenciation économique à Saint Pétersbourg a considérablement augmentéà la suite des réformes actuelles (d'une proportion de 1 à 4 avant 1990 à une proportion de 1 à 10 à la fin de 1996). L'analyse des caractéristiques économiques de la population de Saint Péterbourg a révélé qu'il y a eu une rapide différenciation d'un type nouveau au cours des cinq dernières années. A présent ce sont la richesse et la pauvreté, plutôt que les attributs sociaux et professionnels communs, qui ont tendance à unir ou à séparer les gens. Le niveau de revenu personnel et familial détermine le comportment des consommateurs, le style de vie, sens des valeurs, attitudes culturelles et même la perception d'eux-mêmes qu'ont les individus.